mayjunepreview2009

ˇ C´ EVOLUTION OF INTERACTIVE MEDIA SAM WEBER EXHIBIT BRUKETA& ZINI DAVID&GOLIATH MARK HOLTHUSEN INTERACTIVE ANNUAL 15 5 0

T H

A N N I V E R S A R Y

38 AWARD-WINNING PROJECTS SHOWCASING THE BEST OF INTERACTIVE DESIGN

WEB SITES + DVD + INSTALLATIONS + MOBILE + GAMING + SOCIAL NETWORKING

May/June 2009 Twenty Four Dollars www.commarts.com

by Rebecca Bedrossian

{sam weber} O

utside the frenetic energy that engulfs Manhattan and its inhabitants lies Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In comparison, and despite its proximity to America’s busiest metropolis, Greenpoint is, well, quiet. What the neighborhood lacks in conveniences—transportation tops the list—it more than makes up for with space, lots of it, and thereby has become a haven of sorts for illustrators.

At the heart of Greenpoint is the historic Pencil Factory, home to many studios and small businesses. Huge, yellow pencils embellish its façade, a testament to the building’s past—and its present. Inside this Art Deco building, where No. 2 Mongol pencils were once made, is a spacious studio filled with natural light, hardwood floors and five workstations, one of which belongs to illustrator Sam Weber.

The studio is more than a shared space—it is a community. The camaraderie between Weber, Christopher Silas Neal, Grady McFerrin, Ted McGrath and Kim Bost is palpable, and extends beyond the studio walls. It’s in this environment, surrounded by peers, that Weber creates work that seamlessly integrates his drawing skills with the computer—resulting in worlds where reality and fantasy coexist.

Using a mostly muted palette punctuated by deliberate swashes of color, Weber blends painterly layers that evoke both the sweet and macabre. Sometimes dark and dramatic, other times soft and enchanting. These morbid elements do not detract from, but add to, the allure of stories he paints for a range of clients that include the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Time, BusinessWeek, Men’s Health, the Progressive, Tor Books, dc/Vertigo Comics and Random House.

“I’ve always enjoyed trying to hide my process,” Weber admits, “not because I’m secretive, but there’s a little bit of illusion, that sense of magic.”

And it was exactly that which made Anthony Swaneveld tap Weber for Soulpepper Theatre’s 2009 season. “The season is full of intense, emotional plays with a bit of a darker flavor,” explains Swaneveld. “The illustrations had to appeal to this darker sensibility, but also act as marketing tools to sell the plays. What resulted were illustrations somewhere in between—most with a hint of humor and layers of meaning—making them not only beautiful, but ultimately approachable by the audience.

Right: “A personal project for an ongoing series, which was eventually published in Swallow.”

Ashley Wood, art director; IDW Publishing, publisher.

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“I see the Internet as a social movement more than anything else. To think that the way the Web is now is the way it will always be is just crazy” –Auriea Harvey (1999) 3

1

5

“There is a design trend toward leaner and more accessible information as opposed to thick metaphor, heavy graphics and virtual worlds you have to navigate through”

–Brad Johnson (1998)

2

4

“What you’re going to see is the struggle to figure out how you make money and how you create a balance so it doesn’t interfere with the experience.”

–Barbara Kuhr (2000)

1. Eye to Mind—Unit of Life. Aaron Marcus and Associates, Inc. (Berkeley, CA), multimedia production company. 2. Wired News. Wired Digital, (San Francisco, CA), multimedia production company/client. 3. 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano. Studio Archetype, Inc. (San Francisco, CA), site design and development. 4. Return to Midway. Terra Incognita (Alexandria, LA), site design and development. 5. The Star-Spangled Banner. Hello Design (Culver City, CA), site design and development.

1998 1999 20 CSS level 2 was developed by the W3C and published as a recommendation

Release of Flash 4, the first player with full scripting implementation

XML 1.0 became a W3C recommendation

Microsoft creates XMLHttpRequest object as an ActiveX control in Internet Explorer 5.0

The Sorenson Video codec first appears with the release of QuickTime 3

The Melissa virus attacks the Internet Pyra Labs launches Blogger

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“I can envision people with wireless devices that give them incredible access to information in the environments that surround them—that keep them connected and untethered to their plugged-in workstation. ” –Guthrie Dolan (2001) 4

3

1

“With any medium that’s moving quickly you’ll have years where you’re looking forward and innovating, and you’ll have years where you’re consolidating. This was a year of consolidation.”

5

–Jeffrey Zeldman (2002)

2

1. Turbonium. Arnold Communications, Inc. (Boston, MA), site design and development. 2. Williams-Sonoma. marchFIRST (San Francisco, CA), site design and development. 3. Unwrapped: The Mysterious World of Mummies. Second Story Interactive (Portland, OR), site design and development.

4. MINIUSA.com. Euro RSCG Circle (Boston, MA), site design and development. 5. What is a Print? The Chopping Block (New York, NY), site design and development.

00 2001 2002 Dot-com bubble bursts Wikipedia launches Excite@Home files for bankruptcy

Macromedia Flash MX (v6), released with Flash Player 6, includes video capability

Movable Type released

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interactive annual 15: entertainment

Leatherheads “While I was hoping to find a bit more content and interactivity in this piece, it ultimately was enough to simply enjoy the beautiful art direction carried through from the film.”

—Ranee Chung

Set in the 1920s, Leatherheads is part light-hearted look at the early days of professional football in America and part romantic comedy. This destination site for the film is a character showcase and a comprehensive and engaging home for the film’s marketing materials. Loaded with the same rich atmospheres, intriguing characters and beautiful compositions as the film, it’s a successful online translation of a period film complete with 50 plus images, 9 videos and a vintage newsreel report on how the game of today compares to the early days.

Overview:

www.tedperez.com/archive/leatherheads/site

• From concept to launch, the site took five months to develop.

• Content is split into two sections: About The Film (all marketing materials) and Meet The Players (a showcase for the key roles).

• The site was the centerpiece of the film’s marketing campaign which also included broadcast advertising, in-theater materials, print, outdoor and radio.

Alex Rinker, artistic director Taj Tedrow, creative director Jacques Altounian/Dave Ferrell/Luke Sedgeman, programmers Andy Covell/Kristie Cunningham, producers Franky Vasquez, production artist Ted Perez + Associates (Venice, CA), project design and development Doug Neil, Universal Pictures/JP Richards, Universal Pictures, clients

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“Attention to detail creates a retro feel that takes this experience beyond that of a typical movie site.”

—Jason Ring

Comments by Taj Tedrow: How did this project compare with others you’ve worked

“Leatherheads was unlike any project our firm has ever worked on, for one very important reason: It is the first assignment we have been involved with where we were able to connect our patriarch, Ted Perez, to the subject.

Specifically, Ted, in 1932 and 1933 was the traveling secretary for the Boston Braves/Redskins of the nascent nfl. That fact alone instilled a level of pride and responsibility that is hard to put into words. The film had been in development for many years and once green-lit, we made as strong a push as I can remember to be a part of the marketing in any way possible. Fortunately, Universal Pictures felt our ability was on par with our enthusiasm and awarded us the project.”

on in the past?

We borrowed trick plays from the film (and came up with a few from our own sandlot days) to animate clever interstitials between sections and content.”

“One element that we feel deserves some attention are the loaders. Rather than present the standard loading bar/animation, we felt the load times were a great time to have fun and educate users on the mood of the film.

How did you handle load times?

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interactive annual 15: information design

Days With My Father “This is perhaps the most beautifully human thing I have ever seen online.”

—Jason Ring

In this photo-essay, photographer Phillip Toledano explores his relationship with his 98-year-old father. Unlike most sites there is no primary navigation and no links; its secrets are easily revealed and it rewards anyone who spends a little time with it. Created as a means of expressing experiences and emotions that he was feeling at the time, neither the purpose nor the audience were actually considered when Toledano embarked on this work. It was for him. He comments pointedly, “I had no idea if people would be interested. In fact, I thought quite the opposite.”

Overview:

• The team consisted of three people—photographer/writer, designer and programmer—and the site was completed in under a month.

• Days With My Father is a an as3.0 Flash site and the content management system uses a Flash interface and asp.net.

• Mousing to the left reveals thumbnails and the preloading sequence in action; it’s smart enough to interrupt the sequence for anyone who wants to skip ahead.

Robert Lewis, designer Phil Toledano, writer/photographer/client Steve Schieberl, programmer Fashionbuddha Studio (Portland, OR), project design and development

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www.dayswithmyfather.com

“A beautiful and touching portrait of a father/son relationship.”

—Amber Bezahler

Comments by Robert Lewis: How did this project compare with others you’ve worked

“Phil’s images of his father almost knocked me out the first time I saw them, and when I read the story I knew we had to work on this project.

on in the past?

“It actually arrived at a perfect time. After wrapping up one of our most complex Flash projects, we were eager to switch gears and start thinking about one that had the potential to be one of our simplest. Our first designs suggested antique papers and typefaces; however, they created an unintended bias to the story. We became extremely sensitive to the fact that it was Phil’s story and that nothing should come between his story and the audience. Oneby-one we removed textures, colors, page numbers, rollovers, icons—and eventually even the site navigation, which felt like a speed bump on the page. At that point, our main challenge became how to create an intuitive experience. The answer eventually came with a bit of luck and experimentation.

sure what to think about so many e-mails saying that this site made them cry. But before long we realized that Phil had tapped into a universal theme of caring for the people you love, and that people wanted to have a dialogue. We added a comment system a few days after launch that has recorded the stories of over 4,000 visitors from across the globe. It is extremely rewarding to hear that the site has inspired others to want to form closer relationships with their own parents.”

“The response to it was immediate—and almost overwhelming. At first we were caught off-guard and not

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